Nirdlinger House

Dubbed "The House of Death" by the newspapers, because of Phyllis's notoriety for killing her husband, it has "blood-red drapes," the significance of which Walter shrugs off because red drapes are popular with these types of houses throughout the area.

Accident Insurance Policy

The insurance policy that is at the crux of Double Indemnity is an accident insurance policy on the life of H.S. Nirdlinger, Phyllis's husband. As Walter insists on informing the reader, accident policies, unlike other types of policies, like automobile insurance and house insurance, are not "bought," they are "sold." One of the appeals of accident policies is that in the event of accidental death, most of them have a double-indemnity accidental death clause; that is, the policy pays double if the insured dies of an accident. That is because accidental deaths in a statistical sense are relatively rare. This policy covers...